There's also strain in an inelastic collision. More strain = less acceleration = more living. Super rigid structure = less train = more acceleration = less living. No doubt the airbags and whatnot will make this very safe from the inside. I'm just worried about from the outside. But whatever. Not too worried. Plus, who knows, maybe they did design in strategic crumple zones. They never said they didn't. Just got me worried with the sledge.

At least in principle, modern cars should be getting better at not running into things to begin with. The most survivable crash is one that didn't happen because HAL stepped in at the last minute to apply the brakes or stabilize the vehicle.

Disagree? Why? Active crash-avoidance aids seem to be getting pretty impressive.

Yep, if you're going to crash, better to be in as big a vehicle as possible. There is an argument to be made that smaller, more nimble, faster braking vehicles have a better chance of avoiding the crash in the first place, but the statistics do still show SUVs are safer overall, not just on a per-crash basis.

That works until you encounter a concrete wall or solid telegraph pole.

It also is unfair to those you share the road with to embark on an arms race “who can afford the heaviest car”, if only because pedestrians and cyclists will always lose that race.

Unfortunately, a vehicle can only be as nimble as its driver is. Most vehicles out there are driven by average, distracted, exhausted humans.

About this time last year, I skidded and lost control of my car for a fraction of a second while changing lanes on a busy highway at 60mph. I'm alive and typing this not because I was nimble enough to recover from that situation, but because my car had electronic stability control -- a feature that is often not available in smaller models -- and a good set of winter tires.

Don’t think I’ve driven a car without ESC, it’s been mandatory in new cars for almost a decade now.

It depends on the country. ESC became mandatory in most large markets since sometime between 2012 and 2014, but lots of cars are older than that. Unlike phones, automobiles can easily last 15 years or more if well cared for. Which is great in one respect but also a nightmare when it comes to safety and emissions.